Tramway-oiler.



R. H. HALL. TRAMWAY OILER. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27, 19.09.

945,782,, Patented Jan. 11, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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ROBERT E. HALL, OF BLAIR, NEVADA.

TRAMWAY-OILER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. TM, 1916.

Application fi1ed January 27, 1909. Serial No. 474,549.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT H. I'IALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Blair, in the county of Esmeralda and State of Nevada, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tramway-Oilers, of whichthe following is a.full, clear, and exact description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming apart hereof.

My invention has relation to improvements in tramway oilers; and itconsists in the novel combination of parts more fully set forth in thespecification and pointed outin the claims. 7

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention withpendant for the bucket shown dotted; Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereofwith pendant omitted; Fig.

3 is a top plan; Fig. 4; is an enlarged vertical section on the line 4ttof Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a sectional detail on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

The object of my invention is to provide an oiler which willautomatically deliver oil to the axle-bearings of the trucks which carrythe buckets for transporting ore and mineral on aerial tramways, everytruck as it passes the terminal of the tramway being supplied with thenecessary quantity of oil. This method does away with all hand labor,resulting in an economy of material, is quick and sure, and dispenseswith personal attention to the truck from which the bucket is suspended.It is of course understood without going into a detailed description,that the buckets are drawn back and forth from one terminal to theother, the trucks carrying the same going around a loop at such terminalso as to always travel with the same end forwi rd. It is at one of suchterminals where the oiling of the trucksheaves takes place, each truckreceiving its proper quantity of oil at it'reaches a terminal.

The advantages of the invention will be clearly apparent from a detaileddescription thereof which is as follows Referring to the drawings, S,represents the rail at the terminal over which the wheels M of the truck1 pass, it being understood that at the center of the truck is attachedthe pendant 2 from which the bucket (not shown) is suspended. This ofcourse is well understood in the art and a bare reference thereto issufficient at this point. The

sheaves or wheels M of the truck are mounted on spindles 4: which arefirmly driven into the bearings at the ends of the truck, each spindlebeing provided with a longitudinal passage or perforation 5 taperingtoward one end of the spindle, the inner end of the passage-way 5communicating with a port 6 which terminates at the periphery of thespindle between the opposite faces of the sheave M. The outer end of thepassage 5 of the forward spindle is closed by a projecting screw plug Lwhich serves as a tappet in effecting the discharge of the oil aspresently to be seen. The outer end of the passage of the rear spindleis likewise closed by a plug 7, this plug however not projectingmaterially beyond the end of the spindle. Opposite the outer terminal ofthe spindle there is screwed to the sheave a cap or cup 8 into which aportion of the oil finds its way and there lodges, the cup serving as areservoir for the oil whence it works its way in time between thespindle or aXle t and the walls ofthe passageway formed in the sheavefor the reception of the spindle.

Mounted centrally on the truck 1. and carried on brackets 9, 9, is anoil distributer or vessel 0 the bottom of which slopes downward 'from acentral ridge or apeX in the form of an inverted V, thereby forming twodistinct compartments from the bases of the terminal walls of which leadoil conducting pipes o, '0, said pipes terminating at the truck bearingsin which the hollow journals or spindles 4 are mounted, andcommunicating with the longitudinal passage-ways 5 of the spindlesthrough ports 10, 10 formed in the bearings and spindle-wallsrespectively. So that any oil or lubricant flowing from the distributor0 through the pipes o, 'v, will find its way into the passage-ways 5 andports 6 of the spindles, into the space between the spindles and the.sheaves M, thereby lubricating the surfaces about which the sheaves areobliged to rotate. The distributer O is normally closed by a hinged lidP provided at one end in an upwardly curved lip or arm Q for a purposeto presently appear.

Immediately over the terminal rail S, there are disposed a pair of railsD, D, over which travel the wheels C of a frame or truck Y, theterminals of the rails D forming raised extensions D. The truck or frameY supports an oil tank or container A preferably of conical design, thetop To the rear truck axle B of the frame is attached a cable Z whichpasses over a sheave or pulley 12, the outer end of the cable havingsecured thereto a weight 13. Mounted over the rails D in proper positionare beams. 14 from which project buffer springs 15 against which mayimpinge the adjacent axle B when the truck Y is released after impactwith the tapp et L as presently to be seen. Leading from the bottom ofthe oil tank A is a discharge pipe F provided at the lower end in acurved discharge nozzle or spout R which nozzle is turned in a directionso as to come directly in the path of travel of the upturned lip or armQ of the lid P of the distributer vessel O. Immediately above the nozzleor spout R in the pipe F is a gate-valve E of any conventional design,the stem J thereof being loosely coupled to the long arm of an operatinglever I pivoted at a convenient point to the outer end of a bracket-armH rigidly secured to and projecting from the pipe F. The arm H iscoupled to the lower end of a brace T extending from the adjacent axle Bof the truck Y. Interposed at a point below and adjacent to the oiltank, in the pipe F is a gate-valve E which is normally forced to anopen position by an expansion spring K coiled about the stem J of thevalve, and confined between a collar 16 on the stem and the base of thestuffing-box of the valvecasing through which the stem operates.

The stem J of the upper gate-valve likewise has a bearing in thebrace-bar T, the outer end of the stem being pivotally secured to theend of the short arm of the operating or valve-controlling lever I. Thelever I is limited in its oscillation after impact by a bracket Uprojecting from the brace T, the short arm of the lever I being limitedby an arresting shoulder 8, formed on the bracket (Fig. This precautionis taken so as not to strain any of the parts, particularly thevalve-stems J, spring K and the like. Any ordinary gate-valve E may beused in the pipe F, and consequently there is no occasion forillustrating the details of such valve. Leading from the oil dischargepipe F at a point between the casings of the gate-valves is an air-pipeto admit air while the oil pipe is discharging and to allow for itsescape when the oil-pipe is filling. Normally the upper gate-valve isforced to an open position and the lower valve closed by the action ofthe spring K, the lever I assuming a downwardly inclined position asshown. This position of the valves insures the filling of the pipe Fwith oil between the two valves. Depending from the ends of the outeraxle B of the oiltruck Y are bent bracket-arms X whose lower bentterminals serve tosupport anti friction rollers 17 which are adapted toengage the bottoms of the rails D over which the wheels C of theoil-truck run, said bracket-arms serving to arrest the oil-truck againstaccidental derailment or dislodg ment in the event of a too violentimpact by the truck 1 of the tram-car against the free end of the longarm of the operating lever I, as will appear from a description of theoperation of the apparatus which is as follows When the oil-truck Y isat rest, it occupies a position about twenty feet to the rear of theraised extensions D of the rails D. As the tram-truck 1 approaches theoiltruck, the tappet-plug L strikes the end of the long arm of the leverI, (which before the impact assumed a position to close the lowergate-valve E and open the upper gate valve E) tripping the lever to aposition (dotted position Fig. 1) to cause the same to open the lowergate-valve E and close the upper gate-valve E. Before the impactactually takes place the tapering nozzle or spout R has passed under theguiding lip Q of the hinged lid P of the distributer vessel 0, andraised the lid to open position, the spout at the moment of impactoccupying a position directly over the ridge formed by the slopingbottom walls of the vessel 0. The contents of the pipe F thus includedbetween the valves E, E is thus discharged into the vessel O directlyover the ridge aforesaid, one-half of the oil flowing through one of thepipes o to the chamber of the front journal of the truck 1, and theother half to the rear journal. The discharge from the pipe F continuesafter impact long enough to drain the contents of the pipe F between thevalves E, E, it being understood that the oil-truck and tram-trucktravel together until the oil-truck passes over the raised extensions Dof the rails, in which passage it is elevated sufliciently to releasethe lever I from the tappet plug L, the lever resuming its originalposition under the ac tion of the spring K, the lower gate valve closingand the upper one opening to allow more oil into the pipe F. Uponrelease of the lever I from the tappet L the truck 1 continues on itsjourney, and the oil-truck is pulled back by the weight 13 to its firstposition of rest, or until it strikes the buffer springs 15. Theoil-truck lever is then ready to be struck by the tappet of the nexttramtruck, when the operation is repeated, each tram-truck being thusautomatically oiled by the tripping of the lever I, said lever remainingtripped until disengaged by the elevation of the front wheels of theoil-truck in their passage over the raised extensions D of the rails D.Since the two trucks travel together for at least twenty feet, the oilhas ample time to discharge itself into the vessel 0. As the truck 1continues on its journey the spout R passes from under the lid P of thedistributer O and the lid thus released closes automatically to be againopened by the spout of the next succeeding truck passing under theguiding lip Q. The oil thus finally delivered to the passages of therespective journals finds its way to the sheaves and the oiling isaccomplished with no waste and no handling. In cold weather, an electric or other form of heater may be mounted on the oil-truck to keep theoil in condition to flow readily.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In combination with atram-truck provided with journal-bearings, an oil-truck, a valvethereon, a valve-controlling member on the oil truck positioned to beimpinged by the tram-truck for opening the valve and allowing the oil todischarge, means on the tram-truck for receiving said discharging oiland delivering the same to the journal-bearings aforesaid.

2. In combination with a tram-truck provided with a pair ofjournal-bearings, an oil-truck, a valve thereon, a valve-controllingmember on the oil-truck positioned to be impinged by the tram-truck foropening the valve and allowing the oil to discharge, a distributer onthe tram-truck for distributing the oil thus discharged, and means forconducting the oil from the distributer to the journals.

3. In combination with a tram-truck provided with journalbearings, anoil truck, a valve thereon, a valve-controlling member on the oil-truckpositioned to be impinged by the tram-truck for opening the valve andallowing the oil to discharge, means on the tram-truck for receivingsaid discharging oil and delivering the same to the journals, means fordisengaging the valve-controlling member after impact with thetram-truck, and means for closing the valve aforesaid.

at. In combination with a tram-truck provided with journal-bearings, atraveling oiltruck, a valve thereon, a valve-controlling member on theoil truck positioned to be impinged by the train-truck and carry the oiltruck along a suitable distance after impact, connections leading fromthe member to the valve for opening the latter upon the impact with thetram-truck and allowing the oil to discharge, means on the tram-truckfor receiving the oil and conducting the same to the tram-truckjournals, the supporting surface over which the oil-truck travels beinginclined upwardly at a suitable point whereby the oil-truck member israised out of engagement with the tram-truck and the valve closed.

5. In combination with a tram-truck, a reciprocating oiler, a dischargepipe leading from the oiler, cut-off valves in said pipe spaced asuitable vertical distance apart, a

lever pivoted in connection with the oiler and having its armsrespectively coupled to the valves aforesaid, a vessel on the truck, thelever on the oiler being positioned to be impinged by the truck andtripped in proper direction to close the upper valve and open the lowerwhereby the contents of the discharge pipe included in the lengthbetween the valves is discharged into the vessel on the truck, pipes forconducting the oil from the vessel to the truck-journals, means foreffecting a disengagement of the lever from the truck upon conclusion ofthe discharge of the oil from the pipe of the oiler, and a device forreturning the lever to its original position for closing the bottomvalve and opening the upper valve of the discharge pipe.

6. In combination with a reciprocating oiler provided with a dischargenozzle, a train-truck, a valve for controlling the discharge of the oilfrom the oiler to the nozzle, a lever coupled to the valve andpositioned to be impinged by the truck and tripped in proper directionto open the valve, a vessel on the truck for receiving the oil from thenozzle of the oiler, a hinged lid on the vessel, and a device on the lidfor guiding the nozzle under the lid and raising the latter to permitthe nozzle to discharge into the vessel, the lid dropping to a closedposition upon the passage of the truck beyond the point of disengagementbetween it and the lever.

7. In combination with a tram-truck, a reciprocating oiler positioned inthe path of the truck and adapted to be successively impinged therebyand released therefrom, and devices for effecting the discharge of apredetermined quantity of oil from the oiler to the truck upon theimpact aforesaid, and cutting off the oil upon the release of the oilerfrom the truck.

8. In a truck provided with journal-bearings, an oil vessel providedwith bottom diverging or sloping walls, pipes leading from the vessel tothe respective bearings, a reciprocating oiler located in the path oftravel of the truck, and adapted upon impact therewith to discharge acertain quantity of oil into the vessel on the truck, and means fordisengaging the oiler from the truck and simultaneously cutting oif theflow of oil from the oiler.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT H. HALL.

itnesses Gno. O. BRADLEY, Enw. Jtissnv.

